School Board Turns Down Charter Proposals

GLOUCESTER — The Gloucester School Board turned down both proposals for a second charter school Wednesday.

The proposals had been the subject of public hearing and a review by a committee composed mostly of school division employees. The committee had recommended denial of both applications.

Gloucester Academy would have served underachieving and at-risk youngsters in the lower grades. No one, including the organizers, spoke in favor at the public hearing last month.

The board turned that one down with no discussion.

The other proposal -- for the Gloucester Area Partnership, or GAP, school -- would have prepared potential dropouts ages 16 to 18 for work and for the General Educational Development, or GED, certificate.

Board member Stanley Belvin was the only one to support the school Wednesday.

The GAP proposal had received more community interest than the other proposal: 17 people, including business owners and teachers, spoke on its behalf last month.

Belvin said on Wednesday that the hearing was "concrete evidence" of community support, but the other board members weren't convinced.

GAP organizers submitted a list of businesses that had endorsed the school, but co-founder Ken Hidu acknowledged that one of the businesses was listed in error. He said the list had been corrected.

Another endorsement, by the Gloucester school division's maintenance department, was denied on Wednesday by Jim Camp, the department director.

Ronnie Cohen, vice chairwoman of the board, said the lack of signed business agreements -- specifying how GAP students would be trained and paid -- was a worry.

She and others said GAP's GED program would overlap the GED programs offered at Victory Academy, the county's current charter school.

Victory's coordinator, Shirley Cooper, said about 70 students were enrolled in the GED program there. The school also offers alternative classes for 20 eighth- and 20 ninth-graders.

She said that before Victory's alternative programs were in place, the county's dropout rate was above 5 percent. W. Wayne Fox, director of student services, said it was about 4 percent for the 1999-2000 school year and an estimated 2 percent for the past year.

Superintendent J. Larry Hoover reminded the board that there was no money in the current budget to support another charter school.

The outcome was no surprise to GAP organizers.

After the vote, Hidu passed out prepared remarks, noting the organizers were disappointed with the rejection but would continue to work on their ideas.

He said after the meeting that they hadn't decided whether they would refine and resubmit their proposal next year.

Tina McCloud can be reached at (804) 642-1746 or by e- mail at tmccloud@dailypress.com